CPEARL Toolkit

4. START-UP ISSUES TO CONSIDER

4.1. Gauge community interest
Prior to implementing CPEARL, it may be helpful to determine the level of community interest in attending the program. We suggest the following:
Hosting Information Sessions
Reaching out to existing local community partners, organizations, faith communities

Utilizing your CTSA’s Community Advisory Board to determine importance/need for type of program and disseminate program opportunity to their communities

4.2. 501c3 requirements for CBOs
For the CPEARL program, it would be ideal to have the discussion to determine if requiring CBOs in your area to be a 501c3 in order to apply.
This requirement was not easily made by the planning committee. The discussion was held and the pros and cons were tallied, in addition to push back from a few CAB members who believe this was too exclusionary. The committee looked at different options in order to recruit well-suited CBOs. These options included a maximum yearly operational budget. However, the requirement was incorporated into the pilot due to the following reasons:
Institutional requirements to receive funding via the subcontract process
Perceived capacity of the CBOs to participate in the program
Future partnership requirements between CBO and academic communities
This decision was not unanimously supported though the majority of committee members voted in favor of this option.

4.3. Dissemination of Projects via Conference/Graduation
Dissemination of the CPEARL projects should be discussed during the early stages of program planning as this may involve either the development of a new conference, collaborating with an existing conference, and/or developing a dissemination plan to ensure the project results are relayed back to the community which may include videos, web-stories, pamphlets/booklets, etc. This aspect of the program also provided participants with experience making public conference presentations.
As previously noted, this program’s foundational development was from the University of Kentucky’s CLIK program. The CLIK program incorporates a conference specifically for their participants to disseminate their projects. Rather than add an additional conference to our area, we partnered with the UAMS’ Community Campus Partnership Conference to Address Health Disparities for the CPEARL participants to provide presentations at their September 2020 Conference via afternoon breakout sessions. This conference moved to a virtual format due to the COVID pandemic.
Regarding program graduation, we were unable to host the in-person celebration, which was originally scheduled for the catered lunch session at the CCPC conference. We did mail their certifications and had previously held a catered lunch during their practice presentations on campus in March 2020.

4.4. Capacity of Academic Staff
Each CPEARL team/participant was assigned to an academic mentor. The mentors were assigned two CPEARL teams they met with weekly in-person during the 6-week training intensive. After the training, they provided additional mentorship either in-person or virtually, received and approved their mentee’s 6-month progress notes for payment distribution, and attended the conference sessions.
During the pilot, we utilized existing CE team members as they were receiving salary support from TRI to cover the required time to mentor the teams. However, due to capacity issues for the second year, we are recruiting additional mentors and buying 5% of their time.
A program manager led the planning process via planning material development, keeping the committee on task in meetings, and developed the participant manual.

4.5. Capacity of CBOs to commit staff to training
Due to the size and capacity of the CBOs accepted into CPEARL, we realized the importance of having more than one person from each organization on the team. However, we did come across working with one organization that only had one full time member. Even with teams, we learned the organizations were taxed sending one person consistently through the 6 week intensive due to job duties. Some teams sent different people several times, which made it difficult to build on previous sessions, etc. We did ask for those attending the trainings to try to disseminate what they learned to those who were not in attendance. In addition, we did encounter a team member leaving the organization, who was point person, and this resulted in the combination of two other staff members joining the program mid-way through the intensive.
4.6. Traditional vs Non-Traditional Request for Application (RFA)
For the RFA, we chose a more traditional RFA, which asked the CBO to have a project outlined in their application along with a budget and other supporting documents.
However, based on feedback from participants, in the future we will have a non-traditional RFA, which will ask the CBOs to list their interests and organizational goals rather outlining a specific project. Pilot participants reported that the curriculum they received during the six-week intensive would have greatly aided their application process/project selection.

4.7. In-person, online or hybrid option
For the pilot, we had intended for the entirety of the program to be in-person on UAMS’ Main Campus. However, the COVID pandemic arrived right after the six-week intensive and we transitioned to virtual meetings (check ins with their mentors) and an online conference where participants gave their final presentations. .
For the second year, we are changing the format to a hybrid option. More details available soon.

4.8. Determine length/dates/time of CPEARL
This will vary based upon the program’s location and whether applications are accepted from across the state or some other region requiring long distance travel.
We decided to do a 6-week intensive to allow CPEARL participants to have plenty of time for project implementation for the remainder of the program.
This program is a significant time commitment, especially during the intensive. This should be emphasized in the RFA with a required letter from the CBO’s executive director/board. Consider what will be the best time of day to schedule the weekly sessions to maximize consistent attendance by participants.

4.9. Determine location
When considering a location, you will need to consider the community’s:
Accessibility to the venue
Access to reliable public transportation (if available)
Parking availability and cost
From the institutional perspective, it might be that hosting the CPEARL on your campus is the most fiscally and reasonable option for logistics.
As previously mentioned, this may vary open if you open the application for statewide CBOs. You may want to consider rotating venues, adding optional online participant via remote sites, and/or transition the program to an online platform in its entirety.

4.10. Presenters – Community Friendly
Select presenters who know how to give lay friendly presentations and who can incorporate interactive activities into their sessions. If you want to standardize your program, provide presenters with a PowerPoint template and consider having the language edited internally to assure it is lay friendly and interactive. Identify and assign the roles and responsibilities of the members of the training team.
Having your community engagement team members involved in all aspects of the program will facilitate partnership development with your CTSA.
An example of CE team members’ roles/responsibilities:
Recruitment of CBOs
Registration and communication with participants
Development of program materials (PPT slides/evaluation tool(s)/participant notebook)
Coordination with the fiscal agent
Setting up the room, ordering meals/refreshments
Organizing classroom material
Recruitment of session facilitators
Logistics of daily sessions
Data entry
Lead on conference presentations and coordination with conference planner
Identification and recruitment program mentors

5. Budget

5.1 Overall

The overall budget of the program will depend on how many CBOs are accepted into the program and a variety of other factors (location, online, amount of seed grants, outside presenters, per diem, etc.). Below is a breakdown of the items allocated for the pilot year. We will add the new budget once details are final for the second year.

5.2 Seed grants

5.2.1 Subcontracts

Decide how funds will be disbursed. Below is an example of how this may be done in three installments.

• $1,250 disbursed to each organization upon 6-week intensive completion

• $625 disbursed to each organization at the 6-month check-in

• $625 disbursed to each organization following the program presentation of their project

5.2.2 Progress reports

In order for CPEARL participants to receive funds they were required to produce a report documenting that they have met their objectives. A 1-page progress report, which the academic mentor completes and signs off on, will also suffice to assure that funds are successfully distributed on the preassigned dates.

5.2.3 Travel

In the application process, CBOs have the opportunity to apply for travel grants. This covers their mileage to the six-week intensive and any approved mentoring/project related meetings. Our institution utilizes ClinCards for this payment process.